One last (water balloon) hurrah

After all the counting down, the end comes so fast.

I have been waiting weeks, and waiting months, for this day. Tomorrow. My last day. My release. My scheduled permission to move on with my life.

And here it is...yet it seems to be event-worthy only in my own mind. Life goes on despite the headlines in our personal lives, especially in social work. Half our staff are gone, leaving no management in the office. Everyone is doing their job and trying to keep up. Appointments still need to be made, food needs to be unpacked in the pantry. My departure may be visible to me, but it sure doesn't matter to those coming to the center. Most of the staff, too - they go through Americorps members like weekly groceries. Sure, they'll miss me, but I'm another in the line of revolving HFRC staff.

Oh well. This doesn't mean it's not important to me. In fact, unlike college graduation - which I honored by skipping the ceremony, opting for a dragonboat race instead, and doing Life As Usual - I am celebrating this one with raucous friend time, Lebanese food, alcohol, and 90's dance music (isn't this how every celebration should be?). Celebrating a year to remember! A year to learn! A year that, after so many spent in repetitive college classes (in school), I was challenged. For me, college was just something you do - Americorps, on the other hand, was something I chose, worked for, was anxious over, and worked through challenges while in it. And beat them. I like to think I headbutted most of them into oblivion.

Ha, just kidding. But before I continue writing more metaphors that make less than half the sense they should, I am going to sign off and go to bed. To wake up for my last day of Americorps national service.

Booyah world!

Four weeks and counting...

Have I mentioned that I'm ready to be done? Enough with the muffled-morning commutes and feeling of working helplessly, with only the goal of being finished. I'm tired of combing the office cabinet and settling on crappy food I don't really want. I would like to be home for dinner once, please. So I suppose I'll outline the highlights of each week...

Week 1: July 4, my least favorite holiday, gets a bump in the polls for providing me a 4-day weekend and a 3-day workweek.

Week 2: going out with the coworkers, something that should be done more (with most of them, anyway). We're celebrating (or mourning?) the departure of both myself and Irene within a week of each other. We settled quickly on Skate World, though I think Irene, Rosie and I (the youngest and least tied-down by children or husbands) are the most excited. Retro Night - we don't know quite what this means, but it does mean Irene and I, at least, will be wearing side ponytails and ridiculous clothing.

Week 3: July 20th is Ruby's wedding - a Wednesday. Like most weddings, the lead-up seems to have gone on forever. I am excited to hang out with the gals again, see her fiance/husband in the flesh, and, honestly, see Ruby tipsy or more. Haha.

Week 4: what can I say, it will be the last week! Irene will be gone (very sad), a new coordinator will be rushing around the office (I feel for him/her...) and I will be hard-pressed to find motivation. And then I will be done! And no longer receiving a paycheck.

Damnit, money.